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144-619: The Seleucid Empire , the largest of Alexander's territories, and which included Anatolia, became involved in a disastrous war with Rome culminating in the battles of Thermopylae and Magnesia . The resulting Treaty of Apamea in (188 BC) saw the Seleucids retreat from Anatolia. The Kingdom of Pergamum and the Republic of Rhodes , Rome's allies in the war, were granted the former Seleucid lands in Anatolia. Anatolia subsequently became contested between

288-755: A Macedonian princess, a gift from Seleucus to formalize an alliance. In a return gesture, Chandragupta sent 500 war elephants , a military asset which would play a decisive role at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC. In addition to this treaty, Seleucus dispatched an ambassador, Megasthenes , to Chandragupta, and later Deimakos to his son Bindusara , at the Mauryan court at Pataliputra (modern Patna in Bihar state ). Megasthenes wrote detailed descriptions of India and Chandragupta's reign, which have been partly preserved to us through Diodorus Siculus . Later Ptolemy II Philadelphus ,

432-646: A combined land and naval force, and by 333 BC had effectively vanquished the Persians in the Anatolian lands, and ending the Achaemenid Empire by 330 BC. However, he devoted the rest of his life to military conquests further east, dying in 323 BC. Thus he fulfilled his father's ambition of liberating the Greeks of Asia Minor. Administratively he continued the satrapy system, his strategy being to respect and win support from

576-622: A conspiracy ( First War of the Diadochi ). Perdiccas' murder necessitated a further partitioning and appointment of a new regent, Antipater , at Triparadisus in 321 BC. Eumenes was condemned and control of Cappadocia passed to Nicanor , while Lydia was given to Cleitus and Hellespontine Phrygia to Arrhidaeus . The second partitioning did little to quell the continuing scheming and jockeying for power. Antipater's illness in 320 BC led him to appoint Polyperchon as regent, passing over his own son Cassander , who now conspired with Antigonus. The result

720-530: A marriage contract, and received in return five hundred elephants. Other territories ceded before Seleucus' death were Gedrosia in the south-east of the Iranian plateau, and, to the north of this, Arachosia on the west bank of the Indus River . Following his and Lysimachus ' decisive victory over Antigonus at the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC, Seleucus took control over eastern Anatolia and northern Syria . In

864-437: A regular basis, with occasional intervention from Ptolemaic Egypt and other outside powers. The Seleucids existed solely because no other nation wished to absorb them—seeing as they constituted a useful buffer between their other neighbours. In the wars in Anatolia between Mithridates VI of Pontus and Sulla of Rome, the Seleucids were largely left alone by both major combatants. Mithridates' ambitious son-in-law, Tigranes

1008-466: A reply to lay before the senate." For a few moments he hesitated, astounded at such a peremptory order, and at last replied, "I will do what the senate thinks right." He then chose to withdraw rather than set the empire to war with Rome again. On his return journey, according to Josephus , he made an expedition to Judea , took Jerusalem by force, slew a great many who had favored Ptolemy , sent his soldiers to plunder them without mercy. He also spoiled

1152-464: A result, Seleucus was reinstated in 312 BC, and a treaty was arranged in 311 BC between Cassander, Lysimachus Satrap of Thrace, Antigonus, Seleucus and Ptolemy which divided the Empire into four spheres of influence. By 304 BC all of these had proclaimed themselves 'kings' ( Basileus : Βασιλεύς), effectively ending the concept of a Macedonian Empire, although it was unclear as to whether all saw themselves as

1296-548: A rump Seleucid kingdom was restored under Antiochus XIII . Even so, civil wars could not be prevented, as another Seleucid, Philip II , contested rule with Antiochus. After the Roman conquest of Pontus, the Romans became increasingly alarmed at the constant source of instability in Syria under the Seleucids. Once Mithridates was defeated by Pompey in 63 BC, Pompey set about the task of remaking

1440-609: A semi-independent minor satrapy under both Croesus of Lydia , and under Persian rule, although paying tribute. Similarly Lycia remained under petty local dynasts, with allegiance to Persia. Mysia was ruled by its own dynasty within the minor satrapy of Hellespontine Phrygia . Caria was a satrap of the Persian Empire which included Lycia as well as the islands of Chios , Rhodes , and Cos at times. The appointed local ruler Hecatomnus took advantage of his position. He gained for his family an autonomous hand in control of

1584-555: A series of Syrian Wars (274–168 BC) between the Ptolomies and the Seleucids varied the degree of control they had in Anatolia. The First Syrian War (274–271 BC) fought by Ptolemy I's son and successor Ptolemy II Philadelphus (283–246 BC) resulted in extending these possessions to include Caria , Lycia , Cilicia , and Pamphylia , as well as the Aegean islands, only to lose some of them in

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1728-509: A series of religious persecutions. This cumulated in a localized revolt in Jerusalem. Antiochus IV's violent retaking of the city and the banning of traditional Judean practices led to the eventual loss of control of Judea by the Seleucid government, paving the way for the rise of an independent Hasmonean kingdom . As with the other major Hellenistic armies , the Seleucid army fought primarily in

1872-759: A siege, chose exile, including Phocaea to Corsica and Teos to Abdera in Thrace . Although our principal source for this period, Herodotus of Halicarnassus , implies this was a swift process, it is more likely that it took four years to subdue the region completely, and the Ionian colonies on the coastal islands remained largely untouched. According to Herodotus ( Histories V, VI) around 500 BC Aristagoras , tyrant of Miletus approached Artaphernes , satrap of Lydia (c. 492 – 480), for assistance in aiding some citizens of Naxos who had been forced to flee (C. 502 BC) and seek his help. He planned to annex not only Naxos but also

2016-531: A strong navy. He shrewdly used this power to guarantee protection for the citizens of Chios , Kos , and Rhodes as they proclaimed independence from Athenian Greece. Mausolus did not live to see his plans realized fully, and his position went to his widow Artemisia . The local control over Caria remained in Hecatomnus 's family for another 20 years before the arrival of Alexander the Great . The preceding events of

2160-606: A successful war against the old enemy, Ptolemaic Egypt , which met with initial success as the Seleucids defeated and drove the Egyptian army back to Alexandria itself. As the king planned on how to conclude the war, he was informed that Roman commissioners, led by the Proconsul Gaius Popillius Laenas , were near and requesting a meeting with the Seleucid king. Antiochus agreed, but when they met and Antiochus held out his hand in friendship, Popilius placed in his hand

2304-461: A tiny minority of the overall population, these Greeks were the backbone of the empire: loyal and committed to a cause that gave them vast territory to rule, they overwhelmingly served in the military and government. Unlike Ptolemaic Egypt , Greeks in the Seleucid Empire seem to rarely have engaged in mixed marriages with non-Greeks; they kept to their own cities. The various non-Greek peoples of

2448-482: Is a pejorative and refers to any subordinate or local ruler, usually with unfavourable connotations of corruption. The word satrap is derived via Latin satrapes from Greek satrápes ( σατράπης ), itself borrowed from an Old Iranian *khshathra-pa . In Old Persian , which was the native language of the Achaemenids, it is recorded as khshathapavan ( 𐎧𐏁𐏂𐎱𐎠𐎺𐎠 , literally "protector of

2592-485: Is now Afghanistan and Pakistan , therefore including a diverse array of cultures and ethnic groups. Greeks , Assyrians , Armenians , Georgians , Persians , Medes , Mesopotamians, Jews , and more all lived within its bounds. The immense size of the empire gave the Seleucid rulers a difficult balancing act to maintain order, resulting in a mixture of concessions to local cultures to maintain their own practices while also firmly controlling and unifying local elites under

2736-619: The Aeolian and Ionian cities to rebel against Lydia . At the time of the fall of Sardis, only one city, Miletus , had made terms with Cyrus. According to Herodotus, when Lydia fell to Cyrus, the Greek cities begged him to allow them to exist within the former Lydian territories on similar terms to those they had earlier enjoyed, Cyrus pointed out that they were too late, and they started building defensive structures. They appealed to Sparta for help, but Sparta refused, instead warning Cyrus not to threaten

2880-630: The Battle of Mount Labus and Battle of the Arius and besieged the Bactrian capital . He even emulated Seleucus with an expedition into India where he met with King Sophagasenus ( Sanskrit : Subhagasena ) receiving war elephants, perhaps in accordance of the existing treaty and alliance set after the Seleucid-Mauryan War. Actual translation of Polybius 11.34 (No other source except Polybius makes any reference to Sophagasenus): He [Antiochus] crossed

3024-527: The Battle of Thymbra . Cyrus won, capturing Sardis after a 14-day siege, Croesus giving himself up to Cyrus. According to the Greek author Herodotus , Cyrus treated Croesus well and with respect after the battle, but this is contradicted by the Nabonidus Chronicle, one of the Babylonian Chronicles (although whether or not the text refers to Lydia's king or prince is unclear). Lydia then became

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3168-566: The Battle of the Eurymedon c. 469. The wars effectively ended in 449 BC with the Battle of Salamis-in-Cyprus, a peace being declared, which Diodorus refers to as the Peace of Callias, although this is debated. Skirmishes continued, and the Greek cities of Asia Minor continued to be pawns in the struggles. The later years of the Empire were beset by internal turmoil. Artaxerxes III (358–338 BC) achieved

3312-462: The Cyclades and Euboea . With the permission of Darius he gathered a force to invade Naxos, but the expedition was a failure. Motivated by fear of the wrath of Darius he prevailed upon those in the expedition to mount an insurrection and subsequently went to Sparta (unsuccessfully) and Athens (successfully) for help. The Ionians attacked Sardis in approximately 499 BC, but Artarphernes managed to hold

3456-731: The Euphrates river, leaving the rest of his family in Alexander 's hands, the battle marked the end of Persian hegemony in Anatolia. Alexander then turned his attention to Syria, the eastern Mediterranean coast and Egypt. Darius himself was murdered in 330 BC, and shortly afterwards Alexander routed the remaining Persian forces at the Battle of the Persian Gate and the Achaemenid Empire was over. Alexander (336–323 BC) succeeded his father King Philip of Macedon (359 BC – 336 BC) on his assassination in 336 BC. Alexander invaded Asia Minor in 335 BC with

3600-598: The Fifth Syrian War , the Seleucids ousted Ptolemy V from control of Coele-Syria . The Battle of Panium (200 BC) definitively transferred these holdings from the Ptolemies to the Seleucids. Antiochus appeared, at the least, to have restored the Seleucid Kingdom to glory. Following the defeat of his erstwhile ally Philip by Rome in 197 BC, Antiochus saw the opportunity for expansion into Greece itself. Encouraged by

3744-512: The Ionian Revolt marked the beginning of half a century of conflict between the superpowers that faced each other across the Aegean. The Persians were already in Europe, with a presence in both Thrace and Macedonia , a position they consolidated following the suppression of the revolt between 492 and 486 BC under Mardonius and later by Darius the Great . From the Greek perspective the first war

3888-532: The Median era from at least 648   BCE. Up to the time of the conquest of Media by Cyrus the Great, emperors ruled the lands they conquered through client kings and governors. The main difference was that in Persian culture the concept of kingship was indivisible from divinity: divine authority validated the divine right of kings . The twenty-six satraps established by Cyrus were never kings, but viceroys ruling in

4032-555: The Median Empire of eastern Anatolia, which had existed for barely a hundred years, was suddenly torn apart by a Persian rebellion in 553 BC under Cyrus II ( Cyrus the Great c. 600 BC or 576–530 BC), overthrowing his grandfather Astyages (585–550 BC) in 550 BC. The Medes then became subject to the Persians. The Persians, who had scant resources for governing their vast empire, ruled relatively benignly as conquerors, attempting to obtain

4176-592: The Parthian Empire , the king's power rested on the support of noble families, who ruled large estates and supplied soldiers and tribute to the king. City-states within the empire enjoyed a degree of self-government, and paid tribute to the king. Administration of the Sassanid Empire was considerably more centralized than that of the Parthian Empire; the semi-independent kingdoms and self-governing city states of

4320-568: The Roman Republic under Pompey in 63 BC. After receiving the Mesopotamian regions of Babylonia and Assyria in 321 BC, Seleucus I began expanding his dominions to include the Near Eastern territories that encompass modern-day Iraq , Iran , Afghanistan , Syria , and Lebanon , all of which had been under Macedonian control after the fall of the former Persian Achaemenid Empire . At

4464-467: The Roman-Seleucid War , King Antiochus IV sponsored a new wave of immigration and settlements to replace them and maintain enough Greeks to staff the phalanxes seen at the military parade at Daphne in 166–165 BC. Antiochus IV built 15 new cities "and their association with the increased phalanx... at Daphne is too obvious to be ignored". Satraps A satrap ( / ˈ s æ t r ə p / )

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4608-655: The Satrapiae . The Western Satraps or Kshatrapas (35–405 CE) of the Indian subcontinent were Saka rulers in the western and central part of the Sindh region of Pakistan , and the Saurashtra and Malwa regions of western India . They were contemporaneous with the Kushans , who ruled the northern part of the subcontinent from the area of Peshawar and were possibly their overlords, and with

4752-407: The shah , in person. The satrap was allowed to have troops in his own service. The great satrapies (provinces) were often divided into smaller districts, the governors of which were also called satraps and (by Greco-Roman authors) also called hyparchs (actually Hyparkhos in Greek, 'vice-regents'). The distribution of the great satrapies was changed repeatedly, and often two of them were given to

4896-410: The temple , and interrupted the constant practice of offering a daily sacrifice of expiation, for three years and six months. The latter part of his reign saw a further disintegration of the Empire despite his best efforts. Weakened economically, militarily and by loss of prestige, the Empire became vulnerable to rebels in the eastern areas of the empire, who began to further undermine the empire while

5040-516: The 2nd century BC, ancient writers referred to them as the Syrian kings, the kings of Syria or of the Syrians, the kings descended from Seleucus Nicator, the kings of Asia, and other designations. Alexander , who quickly conquered the Persian Empire under its last Achaemenid dynast, Darius III , died young in 323 BC, leaving an expansive empire of partly Hellenised culture without an adult heir. The empire

5184-511: The 520s. Because of its strategic position between Europe and Asia it was the launching pad for expeditions to subdue Thrace and Macedonia . Arsites was the last Achaemenid satrap of Dascylium (350–334 BC) according to Demosthenes , committing suicide after the Persian defeat at the battle of Granicus in 334 BC at the hands of Alexander the Great . Greater Phrygia was a minor satrapy of Sparda, with its capital at Celaenae . It concluded Lycaonia, Pisidia, and Pamphylia. Cilicia remained

5328-428: The Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC Antigonus was overthrown and killed, and his lands partitioned. This gave Seleucus control of south eastern Anatolia. In the ensuing years he was in conflict with Demetrius , Antigonus' son gaining and then losing Ciliciain 294 and 286 BC respectively, but then regained it shortly thereafter. His next problem was to deal with Lysimachus who now controlled Thrace and western Asia Minor. In

5472-562: The Caucasus Indicus (Paropamisus) ( Hindu Kush ) and descended into India; renewed his friendship with Sophagasenus the king of the Indians; received more elephants, until he had a hundred and fifty altogether; and having once more provisioned his troops, set out again personally with his army: leaving Androsthenes of Cyzicus the duty of taking home the treasure which this king had agreed to hand over to him. Having traversed Arachosia and crossed

5616-584: The Cilician coast, and then east towards the Gulf of Issus . It was there they encountered and defeated Darius at the Battle of Issus (333 BC). On reaching Mount Amanus , scouts found the Persians advancing through the plains of Issus . Realizing that the terrain at this point favored his smaller army, Alexander attacked the Persians, who were effectively squeezed by the Macedonians . Although Darius escaped, back across

5760-470: The Great attempted to project Seleucid power and authority into Hellenistic Greece , but his attempts were thwarted by the Roman Republic and its Greek allies. The Seleucids were forced to pay costly war reparations and had to relinquish territorial claims west of the Taurus Mountains in southern Anatolia , marking the gradual decline of their empire. Mithridates I of Parthia conquered much of

5904-657: The Great established a new administrative centre at Constantinople , and by the end of the 4th century a new eastern empire was established with Constantinople as its capital, referred to by historians as the Byzantine Empire from the original name, Byzantium . In the subsequent centuries up to including the advent of the Early Middle Ages , the Parthians were succeeded by the Sasanian Persians , who would continue

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6048-447: The Great , king of Armenia , however, saw opportunity for expansion in the constant civil strife to the south. In 83 BC, at the invitation of one of the factions in the interminable civil wars, he invaded Syria and soon established himself as ruler of Syria, putting the Seleucid Empire virtually at an end. Seleucid rule was not entirely over, however. Following the Roman general Lucullus ' defeat of both Mithridates and Tigranes in 69 BC,

6192-570: The Great , who conquered the Achaemenid Empire, and by his successors, the Diadochi (and their dynasties) who carved it up, especially in the Seleucid Empire , where the satrap generally was designated as strategos (in other words, military generals); but their provinces were much smaller than under the Persians. They would ultimately be replaced by conquering empires, especially the Parthians . In

6336-465: The Great King endeavoured to meld elements from all his subjects into a new imperial style, especially at his capital, Persepolis . Whenever central authority in the empire weakened, the satrap often enjoyed practical independence, especially as it became customary to appoint him also as general-in-chief of the army district, contrary to the original rule. "When his office became hereditary, the threat to

6480-768: The Great Satrapy of Sardis (Sparda/Lydia) in the west, Main satrapy of Cappadocia centrally, Main Satrapy of Armenia in the north-east and Main Satrapy of Assyria in the south-east. These correspond to Herodotus's Districts I-IV. However, the number of satrapies and their boundaries varied over time. Within the hierarchical system, Sparda was a Great Satrapy consisting of the Major Satrapies of Sarda (including minor satrapies of Hellespontine Phrygia , Greater Phrygia , Caria , and Thracia ) and Cappadocia . Note that Ionia and Aeolis were not considered separate entities by

6624-552: The Great Satrapy of Media. Anatolia remained one of the most principal regions of the empire during its entire existence. During the reign of Darius the Great , the Royal Road , which directly linked the city of Susa with the western Anatolian city of Sardis . By 550 BC Lydia controlled the Greek coastal cities, who paid tribute, and most of Anatolia, except Lycia , Cilicia and Cappadocia . In 547 BC, King Croesus , who had amassed great wealth and military power, but concerned by

6768-577: The Greco-Macedonian style, with its main body being the phalanx . The phalanx was a large, dense formation of men armed with small shields and a long pike called the sarissa . This form of fighting had been developed by the Macedonian army in the reign of Philip II of Macedon and his son Alexander the Great. Alongside the phalanx, the Seleucid armies used numerous native and mercenary troops to supplement their Greek forces, which were limited due to

6912-520: The Greek language, wrote in Greek, absorbed Greek philosophical ideas, and took on Greek names; some of these practices then slowly filtered down to the lower classes. Hellenic ideas began an almost 250-year expansion into the Near East, Middle East, and Central Asian cultures. Synthesizing Hellenic and indigenous cultural, religious, and philosophical ideas – an ethnic unity framework established by Alexander – met with varying degrees of success. The result

7056-400: The Greeks at the Battle of Thermopylae later that year and razing Athens. However, the loss of the Persian fleet at the Battle of Salamis gave command of the sea to the Greeks, and Xerxes retreated back to Asia. The following year (479 BC) the Greeks won a decisive land victory at Platea in which Mardonius was also killed, followed by another naval victory at Mycale . Greece then went on

7200-501: The Greeks. Cyrus was unimpressed, but nevertheless headed east without bothering them further. This account seems somewhat conjectural. Following the defeat of the Lydian revolt, Mazares began to reduce the other cities in the Lydian lands one by one, starting with Priene and Magnesia . However, Mazares died, and was replaced by another Mede, Harpagus (544–530 BC), who completed the subduing of Asia Minor. Some communities, rather than face

7344-527: The Hellenistic East , by creating new client kingdoms and establishing provinces. While client nations like Armenia and Judea were allowed to continue with some degree of autonomy under local kings, Pompey saw the Seleucids as too troublesome to continue; doing away with both rival Seleucid princes, he made Syria into a Roman province . The domain of the Seleucids stretched from the Aegean Sea to what

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7488-626: The Indus was subject to Seleucus. Chandragupta Maurya ( Sandrokottos ) founded the Maurya Empire in 321 BC after the conquest of the Nanda Empire and their capital Pataliputra in Magadha . Chandragupta then redirected his attention to the Indus River region, and by 317 BC, he conquered the remaining Greek satraps left by Alexander. Expecting a confrontation, Seleucus gathered his army and marched to

7632-456: The Indus. It is said that Chandragupta could have fielded a conscript army of 600,000 men and 9,000 war elephants. Chandragupta received, formalized through a treaty, territory west of the Indus, including the Hindu Kush , modern day Afghanistan , and the eastern part Balochistan province of Pakistan , bordering on the Indus. Archaeologically, concrete indications of Mauryan rule, such as

7776-464: The Parthian Empire were replaced with a system of "royal cities" which served as the seats of centrally appointed governors called shahrabs as well as the location of military garrisons. Shahrabs ruled both the city and the surrounding rural districts. Exceptionally, the Byzantine Empire also adopted the title "satrap" for the semi-autonomous princes that governed one of its Armenian provinces ,

7920-685: The Parthians moved into the power vacuum to take over the old Persian lands. Antiochus' aggressive Hellenizing (or de-Judaizing) activities provoked a full scale armed rebellion in Judea —the Maccabean Revolt . Efforts to deal with both the Parthians and the Jews as well as retain control of the provinces at the same time proved beyond the weakened empire's power. Antiochus orchestrated a military campaign, capturing Artaxias I , King of Armenia, and reoccupying Armenia. His offensive ventured as far as Persepolis, but he

8064-483: The Persian Satrapy of Sardis , also known as the Satrapy of Lydia and Ionia, although there was an unsuccessful rebellion led by Pactyas (Pactyes), the leader of the civil administration, against Tabalus , the Persian military commander ( satrap ) (546–545 BC), shortly thereafter. Once Lydia had been subdued, Cyrus returned to deal with problems in the East leaving a garrison to assist in the governing of his new acquisition. Almost immediately Pactyas, who had been given

8208-402: The Persian forces in 494 BC, following the Battle of Lade , who wreaked vengeance. The last pockets of resistance were obliterated by 493 BC. Herodotus depicts these events as the catalyst to the Graeco-Persian Wars (499–449 BC). However, Herodotus, as is so often our only source, had an agenda in his imprecise accounts, which do not fit well with what is known of the period. It is likely that

8352-401: The Persians, while Lycia was included in semi-autonomous Caria, and Sparda included the offshore islands. Greater Phrygia included Lycaonia , Pisidia , and Pamphylia . Cappadocia initially included Cilicia , also known as Cappadocia-beside-the-Taurus, and Paphlagonia . Assyria was a Main Satrapy of the Great Satrapy of Babylon, and included Cilicia, while Armenia was a Main Satrapy within

8496-547: The Ptolomies. He was unable to fulfill his father's ambitions of incorporating Thrace and Macedonia and nor was he able to subdue Cappadocia and Bithynia in Asia Minor. A new threat was incursions by the Gauls from the north west but they were repelled in 278 BC. Within Asia Minor, the power of Pergamon on the Aegean coast, a remnant of the Lysimachean Empire, was growing. Eumenes I , dynast of Pergamon, revolted against Seleucid rule and defeated Antiochus near Sardis in 262 BC, guaranteeing Pergamon's independence. Antiochus died

8640-425: The Roman general Pompey in 63 BC. Contemporary sources, such as a loyalist decree honoring Antiochus I from Ilium , in Greek language define the Seleucid state both as an empire ( ἀρχή , archḗ ) and as a kingdom ( βασιλεία , basileía ). Similarly, Seleucid rulers were described as kings in Babylonia. The rulers did not describe themselves as being of any particular territory or people, but starting from

8784-419: The Seleucid Empire's height, it had consisted of territory that covered Anatolia , Persia , the Levant , Mesopotamia , and what are now modern Kuwait , Afghanistan , and parts of Turkmenistan . The Seleucid Empire was a major center of Hellenistic culture . Greek customs and language were privileged; the wide variety of local traditions had been generally tolerated, while an urban Greek elite had formed

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8928-404: The Seleucid banner. The government established Greek cities and settlements throughout the empire via a program of colonization that encouraged immigration from Greece; both city settlements as well as rural ones were created that were inhabited by ethnic Greeks. These Greeks were given good land and privileges, and in exchange were expected to serve in military service for the state. Despite being

9072-403: The acropolis, although the lower city was burnt. The Ionians retreated but were defeated by pursuing Persians at Ephesus in 498 BC, whereupon the Athenian ships withdrew. However, over the next two years open rebellion broke out from Byzantium to Caria and Cyprus . Eventually Aristagoras realized the futility of the exercise, as Artaphernes won a number of victories, and fled. Miletus fell to

9216-458: The affair in Naxos represented a democratic revolt against the tyrants. Hellespontine Phrygia lay to the north of the Lydia/Sardis satrapy, incorporating Troad , semi-autonomous Mysia , and Bithynia with its capital at Dascylium (modern day Ergili ) on the south of the Hellespont . Previously it was part of the Kingdom of Lydia . Mitrobates was a satrap, and one of the officials killed by Oroetes (Oroetus), satrap of Sparda (Sardis), in

9360-507: The central authority could not be ignored" (Olmstead). Rebellions of satraps became frequent from the middle of the 5th   century BCE. Darius I struggled with widespread rebellions in the satrapies, and under Artaxerxes II occasionally the greater parts of Asia Minor and Syria were in open rebellion ( Revolt of the Satraps ). The last great rebellions were put down by Artaxerxes III . The satrapic administration and title were retained—even for Greco-Macedonian incumbents—by Alexander

9504-503: The centuries long rivalry between Rome and Persia, which again culminated in frequent wars on the eastern fringes of Anatolia. Byzantine Anatolia came under pressure of the Muslim invasion in the southeast, but most of Anatolia remained under Byzantine control until the Turkish invasion of the 11th century. Lydia had become the predominant power in western Anatolia by the 7th century BC, although often subject to Assyrian control. The Lydian empire gained independence from Assyria by

9648-409: The city of Pergamum in the west was asserting its independence under the Attalid dynasty . The Seleucid economy started to show the first signs of weakness, as Galatians gained independence and Pergamum took control of coastal cities in Anatolia. Consequently, they managed to partially block contact with the West. A revival would begin when Seleucus II's younger son, Antiochus III the Great , took

9792-458: The coast and took refuge in the Aeolian city of Cyme . Mazares demanded that Cyme release Pactyas to him. Fearing retribution, the Cymeans sent him to Mytilene on the island of Lesbos . On hearing that the Mytilenians were negotiating a price for Pactyas, the destination was changed to Chios , but they too handed him over to the Persians. Mazares was followed by Harpagus (544–530 BC) on his death, and then Oroetus (530–520 BC). Oroetus became

9936-511: The conquered (or liberated) people's, respecting their traditions. He also positioned himself as a crusader for pan-hellenism, rescuing the Greek people of Anatolia from tyrants and oligarchs . In addition he colonised the lands he captured with Greek settlers, spreading Greek culture. One of the controversies is the extent to which the Macedonian Empire represented either rupture or continuity. The ascendancy of Greek, and by extension European culture in an area predominantly influenced by Asia to date

10080-557: The cooperation of the local elite in governance. They ruled their vassal states by appointing local rulers, or satraps with responsibility for their satrapies (Greek: Satrapeia). However, the Greeks referred to these satraps as 'tyrants', meaning they were neither democratically elected or derived authority from dynasty . The Achaemenid Persian Empire, continued its expansion under Darius the Great (521–486 BC). The satrap system of local governors continued to be used and upgraded and other governmental upgrades were carried out. Anatolia

10224-463: The descendant of *khshathrapavan is shahrbān ( شهربان ), but the components have undergone semantic shift so the word now means "town keeper" ( shahr شهر meaning "town" + bān بان meaning "keeper"). Although the first large-scale use of satrapies, or provinces, originates from the inception of the Achaemenid Empire under Cyrus the Great , beginning at around 530   BCE, provincial organization actually originated during

10368-455: The distance from the Seleucid rulers' Macedonian homeland. The size of the Seleucid army usually varied between 70,000 and 200,000 in manpower. The distance from Greece put a strain on the Seleucid military system, as it was primarily based around the recruitment of Greeks as the key segment of the army. In order to increase the population of Greeks in their kingdom, the Seleucid rulers created military settlements. There were two main periods in

10512-426: The dominant political class and was reinforced by steady immigration from Greece . The empire's western territories were repeatedly contested with Ptolemaic Egypt —a rival Hellenistic state. To the east, conflict with the Indian ruler Chandragupta of the Maurya Empire in 305 BC led to the cession of vast territory west of the Indus and a political alliance. In the early second century BC, Antiochus III

10656-671: The dynasty eventually came to an end in 30 BC with the death of Cleopatra VII (51–30 BC). On the death of Alexander the Great in 323 BC Seleucus (321–281 BC) was appointed to head the elite cavalry (ἑταῖροι, hetairoi) and a Chiliarch . At the Partition of Triparadisus in 321 BC he was appointed Satrap of Babylonia , but soon found himself involved in the Wars of the Diadochi . In particular this involved conflict with Antigonus , Satrap of Phrygia , to his west, who progressively enlarged his possessions to include all of Asia Minor. Eventually, at

10800-606: The east, landing on the shores of Anatolia near Sestos on the Gallipoli peninsula in 334 BC, and soon crossing the Hellespont into Asia (335 BC). Initially the Persians offered little resistance and Alexander began to liberate Greek city states. Advancing on Dascylium he first encountered Persian troops at the Battle of Granicus in 334 BC. This battle occurred on the Granicus (Biga Çayı) river near modern-day Biga in Çanakkale , on

10944-403: The east, where he sought to extract money to pay the indemnity. The reign of his son and successor Seleucus IV Philopator (187–175 BC) was largely spent in attempts to pay the large indemnity, and Seleucus was ultimately assassinated by his minister Heliodorus . Seleucus' younger brother, Antiochus IV Epiphanes , now seized the throne. He attempted to restore Seleucid power and prestige with

11088-399: The empire were still influenced by the spread of Greek thought and culture, a phenomenon referred to as Hellenization . Historically significant towns and cities, such as Antioch , were created or renamed with Greek names, and hundreds of new cities were established for trade purposes and built in Greek style from the start. Local educated elites who needed to work with the government learned

11232-692: The end of the 7th century. The flourishing of Lydia during the first half of the 6th century BC is also dubbed the Lydian Empire period. Although the Iranian peoples had existed in the area south of the Caspian Sea ( Iranian Plateau ) from pre-historic times, their major influence began when the Medes united them in 625 BC allowing them to sweep away the Assyrian Empire shortly after, when Cyaxares (625–585 BC) led

11376-588: The ensuing Battle of Corupedium , near Sardis in 281 BC, Lysimachus was killed and Seleucus seized control over the remaining lands of Asia Minor. Now reigning over all of Alexander's empire except the Ptolemaic lands in Egypt, his victory was short lived. Immediately moving to take commands of the new lands in Europe, Thrace and Macedonia he crossed into Thracian Chersonese when he was assassinated near Lysimachia by Ptolemy Keraunos , future king of Macedon . Seleucus

11520-410: The establishment of settlements, firstly under Seleucus I Nicator and Antiochus I Soter and then under Antiochus IV Epiphanes . The military settlers were given land, "varying in size according to rank and arm of service'. They were settled in 'colonies of an urban character, which at some point could acquire the status of a polis". The settler-soldiers were called katoikoi ; they would maintain

11664-621: The exiled Carthaginian general Hannibal , and making an alliance with the disgruntled Aetolian League , Antiochus launched an invasion across the Hellespont . With his huge army he aimed to establish the Seleucid empire as the foremost power in the Hellenic world, but these plans put the empire on a collision course with the new rising power of the Mediterranean, the Roman Republic . At the battles of Thermopylae (191 BC) and Magnesia (190 BC), Antiochus's forces suffered resounding defeats, and he

11808-631: The famed Nisean horse herd); and Roman intervention was an ever-present threat. Sidetes managed to bring the Maccabees to heel and frighten the Anatolian dynasts into a temporary submission; then, in 133, he turned east with the full might of the Royal Army (supported by a body of Jews under the Hasmonean prince, John Hyrcanus ) to drive back the Parthians. Sidetes' campaign initially met with spectacular success, recapturing Mesopotamia, Babylonia, and Media. In

11952-504: The first satrap recorded as demonstrating insubordination with respect to the central power of Persia. When Cambyses (530–522 BC), who succeeded his father Cyrus, died, the Persian Empire was in chaos prior to Darius the Great (522–486 BC) finally securing control. Oroetus defied Darius' orders to assist him, whereupon Bagaeus (520–517 BC) was sent by Darius to arrange his murder. Cyrus had initially unsuccessfully tried to persuade

12096-493: The following year, Antiochus I Soter was succeeded by his son Antiochus II (261–246 BC) named Theos, or "divine", who conducted the Second Syrian War (260–253 BC). Eventually he was poisoned by his first wife, Laodice I who also poisoned his second wife Berenice Phernophorus , daughter of Ptolemy II Philadelphus and her infant son. Antiochus II's son by Laodice from his first wife, Seleucus II Callinicus (246–225 BC),

12240-517: The growing Persian power and obvious intent, took advantage of the instability of the Persian revolt and besieged and captured the Persian city of Pteria in Cappadocia . Cyrus The Great then marched with his army against the Lydians. Although the Battle of Pteria led to a stalemate, the Lydians were forced to retreat to their capital city of Sardis . Some months later the Persian and Lydian kings met at

12384-522: The historian Appian : Always lying in wait for the neighboring nations, strong in arms and persuasive in council, he [Seleucus] acquired Mesopotamia, Armenia, 'Seleucid' Cappadocia, Persis, Parthia, Bactria, Arabia, Tapouria, Sogdia, Arachosia, Hyrcania, and other adjacent peoples that had been subdued by Alexander, as far as the river Indus, so that the boundaries of his empire were the most extensive in Asia after that of Alexander. The whole region from Phrygia to

12528-474: The inscriptions of the Edicts of Ashoka , are known as far as Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. According to Appian: He [Seleucus] crossed the Indus and waged war with Sandrocottus [Maurya], king of the Indians, who dwelt on the banks of that stream, until they came to an understanding with each other and contracted a marriage relationship. It is generally thought that Chandragupta married Seleucus's daughter, or

12672-572: The invasion in 612 BC. Lydian king Sadyattes (ruled c. 624/1–610/609 BC) joined forces with Cyaxares the Mede to drive the Cimmerians out of Anatolia. This alliance was short lived, since his successor Alyattes (ruled c. 605–560 BC) found himself being attacked by Cyaxares, although the neighbouring king of Cilicia intervened, negotiating a peace in 585 BC, whereby the Halys River in north central Anatolia

12816-435: The king's name, although in political reality many took advantage of any opportunity to carve themselves an independent power base. Darius the Great gave the satrapies a definitive organization, increased their number to thirty-six, and fixed their annual tribute ( Behistun inscription ). The satrap was in charge of the land that he owned as an administrator, and found himself surrounded by an all-but-royal court; he collected

12960-495: The kingdom's guards' regiments. The rest of the Seleucid army would consist of native and mercenary troops, who would serve as light auxiliary troops. While the Seleucids were happy to recruit from less populated and outlying parts of the Empire such as the Arabs and Jews, Iranian peoples in the east, and inhabitants of Asia Minor to the north, they generally eschewed recruiting native Syrians and native Mesopotamians ( Babylonians ). This

13104-504: The land as their own and in return, they would serve in the Seleucid army when called. The majority of settlements were concentrated in Lydia , northern Syria , the upper Euphrates and Media . Antiochus III brought Greeks from Euboea , Crete and Aetolia and settled them in Antioch . These Greek settlers would be used to form the Seleucid phalanx and cavalry units, with picked men put into

13248-573: The last was defeated and killed by the invading Parni of Arsaces —the region would then become the core of the Parthian Empire . Diodotus , the Seleucid governor for the Bactrian territory, asserted independence in around 245 BC, although the exact date is far from certain, to form the Greco-Bactrian Kingdom . This kingdom was characterized by a rich Hellenistic culture and was to continue its domination of Bactria until around 125 BC when it

13392-610: The latter area, he founded a new capital at Antioch on the Orontes , a city he named after his father. An alternative capital was established at Seleucia on the Tigris , north of Babylon. Seleucus's empire reached its greatest extent following his defeat of his erstwhile ally, Lysimachus, at Corupedion in 281 BC, after which Seleucus expanded his control to encompass western Anatolia. He hoped further to take control of Lysimachus's lands in Europe – primarily Thrace and even Macedonia itself, but

13536-486: The legitimate heir of the entire empire. It was Antigonus and his son Demetrius who continued to wage war ( Fourth War of the Diadochi ). The Fourth War culminated in the Battle of Ipsus , Phrygia in 301 BC, in which Antigonus now in his 80s faced the combined forces of Cassander, Lysimachus and Seleucus. Antigonus was killed, and Demetrius fled, allowing his enemies to carry out a third partition, dividing his possessions between them. In post-Ipsus Anatolia, Lysimachus held

13680-523: The neighboring rivalling Romans and the Parthian Empire , which frequently culminated in the Roman–Parthian Wars . Anatolia came under Roman rule entirely following the Mithridatic Wars of 88–63 BC. Roman control of Anatolia was strengthened by a 'hands off' approach by Rome, allowing local control to govern effectively and providing military protection. In the early 4th century, Constantine

13824-701: The new system, which eventually led to the demise of Perdiccas. Ptolemy's revolt created a new subdivision of the empire with the Partition of Triparadisus in 320 BC. Seleucus , who had been "Commander-in-Chief of the Companion cavalry " ( hetairoi ) and appointed first or court chiliarch (which made him the senior officer in the Royal Army after the regent and commander-in-chief Perdiccas since 323 BC, though he helped to assassinate him later) received Babylonia and, from that point, continued to expand his dominions ruthlessly. Seleucus established himself in Babylon in 312 BC,

13968-516: The newly formed Parthian Empire . The Seleucid satrap of Parthia, named Andragoras , first claimed independence, in a parallel to the secession of his Bactrian neighbour. Soon after, however, a Parthian tribal chief called Arsaces invaded the Parthian territory around 238 BC to form the Arsacid dynasty , from which the Parthian Empire originated. Antiochus II's son Seleucus II Callinicus came to

14112-468: The offensive, capturing Byzantium and Sestos and thus controlling the Hellespont . Following these Persian reverses, the Greek cities of Asia Minor again rebelled. The focus of the war now moved to the Aegean islands with the formation of the Delian League in 477 BC. Over the next 30 years Greek forces continued to harass Persian garrisons, invading Asia Minor in the 460s with an important victory at

14256-404: The province by providing the Persians with regular tribute, avoiding the look of deception. His son Mausolus continued in this manner, and expanded upon the groundwork laid by his father. He first removed the official capital of the satrap from Mylasa to Halicarnassus , gaining a strategic naval advantage as the new capital was on the ocean. On this land he built a strong fortress and built up

14400-654: The province"). The Median form is reconstructed as *khshathrapavan- . Its Sanskrit cognate is kshatrapa ( क्षत्रप ). The Biblical Hebrew form is aḥashdarpan אֲחַשְׁדַּרְפָּן , as found in Esther 3:12. In the Parthian (language of the Arsacid Empire ) and Middle Persian (the language of the Sassanian Empire ), it is recorded in the forms šahrab and šasab , respectively. In modern Persian

14544-492: The recovered eastern territories were recaptured by the Parthians. The Maccabees again rebelled, civil war soon tore the empire to pieces, and the Armenians began to encroach on Syria from the north. By 100 BC, the once-formidable Seleucid Empire encompassed little more than Antioch and some Syrian cities. Despite the clear collapse of their power, and the decline of their kingdom around them, nobles continued to play kingmakers on

14688-402: The remaining eastern lands of the Seleucid Empire in the mid-second century BC including Assyria and what had been Babylonia , while the independent Greco-Bactrian Kingdom continued to flourish in the northeast. The Seleucid kings were thereafter reduced to a rump state in Syria after a civil war, until their conquest by Tigranes the Great of Armenia in 83 BC, and ultimate overthrow by

14832-428: The responsibility of raising tributes, raised a mercenary army from neighboring Greek cities and besieged Tabulus in the citadel. Herodotus' account that Cyrus intended to enslave the Lydians seems unsubstantiated. Pactyas soon found that he had no allies and furthermore that Cyrus was acting swiftly to put down the rebellion, sending Mazares (545–544 BC), one of his generals to restore order. Pactyas subsequently fled to

14976-403: The river Enymanthus, he came through Drangene to Carmania; and as it was now winter, he put his men into winter quarters there. When he returned to the west in 205 BC, Antiochus found that with the death of Ptolemy IV , the situation now looked propitious for another western campaign. Antiochus and Philip V of Macedon then made a pact to divide the Ptolemaic possessions outside of Egypt, and in

15120-531: The rule of Antiochus IV introduced significant changes. Antiochus IV instigated a bidding process for the High Priest position—this led to Menelaus , a radical Hellenist, outbidding Jason , a moderate Hellenist who upheld many traditional Judean practices. The shift from Jason to Menelaus unsettled the Jewish populace due to Menelaus's more extreme Hellenistic leanings. Aggravating the situation, Antiochus IV initiated

15264-634: The ruler of Ptolemaic Egypt and contemporary of Ashoka the Great , is also recorded by Pliny the Elder as having sent an ambassador named Dionysius to the Mauryan court. The Indians occupy [in part] some of the countries situated along the Indus, which formerly belonged to the Persians: Alexander deprived the Ariani of them, and established there settlements of his own. But Seleucus Nicator gave them to Sandrocottus (Chandragupta Maurya) in consequence of

15408-466: The same man. As the provinces were the result of consecutive conquests (the homeland had a special status, exempt from provincial tribute), both primary and sub-satrapies were often defined by former states and/or ethno-religious identity. One of the keys to the Achaemenid success was their open attitude to the culture and religion of the conquered people, so the Persian culture was the one most affected as

15552-459: The second war (260–253 BC). The territorial extent of the Ptolemies reached its zenith under Ptolemy III Euergetes (246–222 BC) and the third (Laodicean) war (246–241 BC). Thereafter the Ptolemaic powers declined. Philip V of Macedon (221–179 BC) seized territory in Caria, and Roman influence steadily increased as it progressively absorbed much of the Greek world. Egypt formed a pact with Rome and

15696-528: The significance of Marathon, great victory or minor skirmish. Greece was spared further invasions when an unplanned interbellum (490–480 BC) occurred due to an insurrection in Egypt in 486 BC and Darius' illness and death that year. By 480 BC, Darius' successor, his son Xerxes I (485–465 BC) had amassed a huge army, and marched into Europe by crossing the Hellespont by means of pontoon bridges , meeting and defeating

15840-574: The south coast of the Sea of Marmara . The Persians were routed and the Greeks moved down the Aegean coast, taking Sardis, and besieging many cities. From the Aegean they moved east along the Mediterranean coast as far as Side in Pamphylia (333 BC), securing all of the Anatolian naval bases. From Side they moved north into the interior of Phrygia and Cappadocia before returning through the Cilician Gates to

15984-436: The tablets on which was written the decree of the senate and told him to read it. The decree demanded that he should abort his attack on Alexandria and immediately stop waging the war on Ptolemy. When the king said that he would call his friends into council and consider what he ought to do, Popilius drew a circle in the sand around the king's feet with the stick he was carrying and said, "Before you step out of that circle give me

16128-416: The taxes, controlled the local officials and the subject tribes and cities, and was the supreme judge of the province before whose "chair" ( Nehemiah   3:7) every civil and criminal case could be brought. He was responsible for the safety of the roads (cf.   Xenophon), and had to put down brigands and rebels. He was assisted by a council of Persians, to which also provincials were admitted and which

16272-546: The throne after his brother's capture. He faced the enormous task of restoring a rapidly crumbling empire, one facing threats on multiple fronts. Hard-won control of Coele-Syria was threatened by the Jewish Maccabee rebels. Once-vassal dynasties in Armenia, Cappadocia, and Pontus were threatening Syria and northern Mesopotamia ; the nomadic Parthians, brilliantly led by Mithridates I of Parthia , had overrun upland Media (home of

16416-720: The throne around 246 BC. Seleucus II was soon dramatically defeated in the Third Syrian War against Ptolemy III of Egypt and then had to fight a civil war against his own brother Antiochus Hierax . Taking advantage of this distraction, Bactria and Parthia seceded from the empire. In Asia Minor too, the Seleucid dynasty seemed to be losing control: the Gauls had fully established themselves in Galatia , semi-independent semi-Hellenized kingdoms had sprung up in Bithynia , Pontus , and Cappadocia , and

16560-508: The throne by violent means and was rumored to have been murdered himself. His successor Artaxerxes IV Arses (338–336 BC) also met a violent end, paving the way for the accession of his nephew Darius III (336–330), then Satrap of Armenia. Darius proved to be the last king to rule since in the same year Alexander the Great became king of neighboring Macedon . Within a year Alexander was in Thrace , putting down rebellions and securing his northern frontiers. Alexander then turned his attention to

16704-536: The throne in 223 BC. Although initially unsuccessful in the Fourth Syrian War against Egypt, which led to a defeat at the Battle of Raphia (217 BC), Antiochus would prove himself to be the greatest of the Seleucid rulers after Seleucus I himself. He spent the next ten years on his anabasis (journey) through the eastern parts of his domain and restoring rebellious vassals like Parthia and Greco-Bactria to at least nominal obedience. He gained many victories such as

16848-545: The usurping general Diodotus Tryphon —held out in Antioch . Meanwhile, the decay of the Empire's territorial possessions continued apace. By 143 BC, the Jews in the form of the Maccabees had fully established their independence. Parthian expansion continued as well. In 139 BC, Demetrius II was defeated in battle by the Parthians and was captured. By this time, the entire Iranian Plateau had been lost to Parthian control. Demetrius Nicator's brother, Antiochus VII Sidetes , took

16992-487: The west and north, Seleucus the east, and Ptolemy the south east. For a while Pleistarchus , Antipater's son and Cassander's brother ruled Cilicia, before being driven out the following year (300 BC) by Demetrius. The other exception was Pontus which under Mithridates I managed to gain independence. The third partition of 301 BC was no more effective at bringing stability to the region than its predecessors. Demetrius, who eventually became King of Macedon (294 BC – 288 BC),

17136-415: The west, including repeated wars with Ptolemy II and a Celtic invasion of Asia Minor —distracting attention from holding the eastern portions of the Empire together. Towards the end of Antiochus II's reign, various provinces simultaneously asserted their independence, such as Bactria and Sogdiana under Diodotus , Cappadocia under Ariarathes III , and Parthia under Andragoras . A few years later,

17280-419: The winter of 130/129 BC, his army was scattered in winter quarters throughout Media and Persis when the Parthian king, Phraates II , counter-attacked. Moving to intercept the Parthians with only the troops at his immediate disposal, he was ambushed and killed at the Battle of Ecbatana in 129 BC. Antiochus Sidetes is sometimes called the last great Seleucid king. After the death of Antiochus VII Sidetes, all of

17424-518: The year later used as the foundation date of the Seleucid Empire. The rise of Seleucus in Babylon threatened the eastern extent of the territory of Antigonus I Monophthalmus in Asia. Antigonus, along with his son Demetrius I Poliorcetes , unsuccessfully led a campaign to annex Babylon. The victory of Seleucus ensured his claim of Babylon and legitimacy. He ruled not only Babylonia, but the entire enormous eastern part of Alexander's empire, as described by

17568-519: Was a governor of the provinces of the ancient Median and Persian (Achaemenid) Empires and in several of their successors, such as in the Sasanian Empire and the Hellenistic empires. A satrapy is the territory governed by a satrap. A satrap served as a viceroy to the king, though with considerable autonomy. The word came to suggest tyranny or ostentatious splendour, and its modern usage

17712-694: Was assassinated by Ptolemy Ceraunus on landing in Europe. His son and successor, Antiochus I Soter , was left with an enormous realm consisting of nearly all of the Asian portions of the Empire, but faced with Antigonus II Gonatas in Macedonia and Ptolemy II Philadelphus in Egypt, he proved unable to pick up where his father had left off in conquering the European portions of Alexander's empire. Antiochus I (reigned 281–261 BC) and his son and successor Antiochus II Theos (reigned 261–246 BC) were faced with challenges in

17856-525: Was assassinated in 321 BC. Power often lay with the Satraps, usually generals. In Anatolia, this initial division of power at Babylon was as follows; Western Anatolia: Hellespontine Phrygia by Leonnatus , Lydia by Menander , Caria by Asander Central Anatolia: Phrygia , Lycia and Pamphylia by Antigonus , Cappadocia and Paphlagonia by Eumenes of Cardia , Cilicia by Philotas Eastern Anatolia: Armenia by Neoptolemus However, dissent

18000-422: Was carved up under Persian hegemony into regional administrations (Satrapies or provinces, depending on sources) which replaced the hegemonic kingdoms prior to the conquest. Kings were replaced by Satraps. Satrap and Satrapy corresponding to Governor and Province respectively. The administration was hierarchical, often referred to as Great, Main and Minor Satrapies. The main administrative units in Anatolia were

18144-564: Was civil war ( Second War of the Diadochi ) with Cassander declaring himself regent in 317 BC and King in 305 BC, having had Alexander IV murdered in 309 BC. Meanwhile, Antigonus in Phrygia was expanding east forcing Seleucus , Satrap of Babylon, to flee to Ptolemy , Satrap of Egypt and Libya in 315 BC ( Third War of the Diadochi ). This aggression brought pressure to bear on Antigonus, who soon found himself under attack in Thrace, Caria and Palestine. As

18288-485: Was compelled to make peace and sign the Treaty of Apamea (188 BC), the main clause of which saw the Seleucids agree to pay a large indemnity, to retreat from Anatolia and to never again attempt to expand Seleucid territory west of the Taurus Mountains . The Kingdom of Pergamum and the Republic of Rhodes , Rome's allies in the war, gained the former Seleucid lands in Anatolia. Antiochus died in 187 BC on another expedition to

18432-450: Was controlled by a royal secretary and emissaries of the king, especially the "eye of the king", who made an annual inspection and exercised permanent control. There were further checks on the power of each satrap: besides his secretarial scribe, his chief financial official (Old Persian ganzabara ) and the general in charge of the regular army of his province and of the fortresses were independent of him and periodically reported directly to

18576-489: Was endemic, and almost continuous war ensued amongst the Macedonian generals, lasting over 40 years; these wars were referred to as the wars of the successors (Διάδοχοι, Diadokhoi, or Diadochi ) (323–276 BC). Although Cappadocia had been allocated to Eumenes, it had not yet been subdued and had to be put down in 322 BC, in the course of which Antigonus fell out with Perdiccas and fled to Europe from Phrygia, where he initiated

18720-531: Was established as the Medes' frontier with Lydia. Herodotus writes: Alyattes issued minted electrum coins, and his successor Croesus , ruling c. 560–546 BC, became known for being the first to issue gold coins . The southeast of Anatolia was ruled by the Assyrian Empire . Tabal was a Luwian speaking Neo-Hittite kingdom of South Central Anatolia which fell under Assyrian rule in 713 BC. The Medean Empire turned out to be short lived (c. 625 – 549 BC). By 550 BC,

18864-504: Was forced from the city by the populace. On his return home, Antiochus died in Isfahan in 164 BC. After the death of Antiochus IV Epiphanes , the Seleucid Empire became increasingly unstable. Frequent civil wars made central authority tenuous at best. Epiphanes' young son, Antiochus V Eupator , was first overthrown by Seleucus IV's son, Demetrius I Soter in 161 BC. Demetrius I attempted to restore Seleucid power in Judea particularly, but

19008-464: Was killed and Seleucus seized control over western Asia Minor. Of all the major satraps appointed on the death of Alexander the Great (323 BC), Ptolemy (323–283 BC) settled into his new province of Egypt and Libya with the least difficulty, controlling much of the Levant and at times south-eastern Anatolia. This was confirmed following the third partition following the Battle of Ipsus in 301 BC. However,

19152-405: Was not universally accepted, and his half-brother Arrhidaeus (323–317 BC) was advanced as a candidate by Meleager . Eventually Alexander and Philip were made joint monarchs and responsibility for regional administration divided up at the Partition of Babylon (323 BC). Philip was unable to rule effectively due to a serious disability, and both he and Alexander were soon murdered. Perdiccas himself

19296-413: Was noted for his founding of cities, such as Antioch (one of many cities with that name), named after his father Antiochus , and which became the capital of Syria. After the death of Seleucus, the vast and unwieldy empire he left faced many trials, both from internal and external forces. His son Antiochus I Soter (281–261 BC) faced the first of many Syrian Wars with the Seleucids southern neighbours,

19440-565: Was overrun by the invasion of northern nomads. One of the Greco-Bactrian kings, Demetrius I of Bactria , invaded India around 180 BC to form the Indo-Greek Kingdoms . The rulers of Persis , called Fratarakas , also seem to have established some level of independence from the Seleucids during the 3rd century BC, especially from the time of Vahbarz . They would later overtly take the title of Kings of Persis , before becoming vassals to

19584-447: Was overthrown in 150 BC by Alexander Balas —an impostor who (with Egyptian backing) claimed to be the son of Epiphanes. Alexander Balas reigned until 145 BC when he was overthrown by Demetrius I's son, Demetrius II Nicator . Demetrius II proved unable to control the whole of the kingdom, however. While he ruled Babylonia and eastern Syria from Damascus , the remnants of Balas' supporters—first supporting Balas' son Antiochus VI , then

19728-523: Was presumably mostly from a desire not to train and arm the people who were an overwhelming majority in the trade and governmental centers of the Empire in Antioch and Babylon, risking revolt. While a revolt in a remote place could be put down by resolute action from the center, an uprising in Syria-Coele would have undermined the kingdom's very existence. Following losses of territory in Asia Minor during

19872-575: Was proclaimed by his mother. Seleucid Empire The Seleucid Empire ( / s ɪ ˈ lj uː s ɪ d / ) was a Greek state in West Asia during the Hellenistic period . It was founded in 312 BC by the Macedonian general Seleucus I Nicator , following the division of the Macedonian Empire founded by Alexander the Great , and ruled by the Seleucid dynasty until its annexation by

20016-419: Was put under the authority of a regent, Perdiccas , and the vast territories were divided among Alexander's generals, who thereby became satraps at the Partition of Babylon , all in that same year. Alexander's generals, known as diadochi , jostled for supremacy over parts of his empire following his death. Ptolemy I Soter , a former general and then current satrap of Egypt , was the first to challenge

20160-548: Was still at large controlling a significant naval force, raiding Lysimachus' territory in Asia Minor. Nor did the Ipsus alliance between the three kings last. Satrap at Partition of Babylon; possibly Nicanor of Stageira Satrap at Partition of Babylon Of the three empires carved out of Alexander's possessions following the battle of Ipsus, the Lysimachian of Thrace, Western (including Lydia, Ionia, Phrygia) and Northern Asia Minor,

20304-415: Was the shortest lived. Lysimachus attempted unsuccessfully to extend his possessions in Europe and Greece. Some of Lysimachus' cruelty, such as the murder of his son Agathocles in 284 BC engendered both revulsion and revolt. Distrusting Seleucus, Lysimachus had now allied himself with Ptolemy. Seleucus invaded the Lysimachian lands and in the ensuing Battle of Corupedium , near Sardis in 281 BC, Lysimachus

20448-444: Was times of simultaneous peace and rebellion in various parts of the empire. In general, the Seleucids allowed local religions to operate undisturbed, such as incorporating Babylonian religious tenets , to gain support. Tensions around the integration of Judaism were present during the reign of the Seleucid governments. Though previous governments had managed a relatively seamless integration of Judean religious and cultural practices,

20592-564: Was to leave a lasting legacy. In June 323 BC, Alexander died suddenly and unexpectedly in Babylon at the age of 32, leaving a power vacuum in Macedon , putting all he had worked for at risk. His vision of a unified empire proved short lived. He had no heir, and had not made apparent plans for succession. Some classical writers state he wished Perdiccas one of his generals, to take charge, and that Perdiccas envisioned sharing power, as regent, with his then unborn son, Alexander IV (323–309 BC). This

20736-461: Was when Darius assembled a fleet in Cilicia and Samos under Datis and Artaphernes (son of the satrap Artaphernes ) and sailed for Eritrea in 490 BC, first taking islands such as Naxos which it had failed to capture in 500, in addition to disembarking at Marathon where they were soundly defeated . Greek (Herodotus) and Persian sources (for instance see Dio Chrysostom XI 148) differ in terms of

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